Regions rises on upgrade, financials trade quietly

GregMorcroft

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Shares of Regions Financial Corp. rose 2% on Monday morning after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. placed them on their conviction buy list.

“We believe a strong self-help story, continued credit recovery and improving fundamentals will drive upside to its shares
RF, +1.59%
, with branch repositioning, rationalizing its franchise and a continued U.S. Southeast housing recovery acting as key catalysts,” the analysts wrote in a research note.

On the downside, shares of American International Group Inc.
AIG, -0.89%
fell 1.6% and were the sector’s biggest loser.

The Treasury Department plans to sell $18 billion of stock in the firm, launching the largest one-time offering of its holdings in the New York-based insurer following a government-led rescue during the 2008 financial crisis.

In the broader sector, U.S. financial stocks weakened in the run-up to a series of important events later this week, mainly a German Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the nation’s role in a European financial rescue plan.

And, in the U.S. investors are biding their time ahead of the Fed’s rate-setting decision later this week.

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